High and low temperature electrolysis integration in Combined Cycles
The objective of this project is to develop - and apply to a case study - techno-economic models to evaluate and compare these two alternatives (high and low temperature electrolysis).
Project Description
The development of more sustainable and flexible thermal power plants is considered to be one of the most promising means to facilitate renewable electricity penetration in the short term. Said flexibility can be achieved by integrating renewable hydrogen production processes in conventional power plants, in this case combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT). One of those processes is the electrolysis, and can occur at low temperatures using alkaline or PEM electrolysers, or at high temperatures (700-100°C) using solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) electrolysers. Although low temperature technologies offer greater flexibility gains in terms of load variation, SOEC systems are more efficient in terms of hydrogen production (kWhelec/KgH2O). Since SOEC electrolysers require not only electricity but also heat, they can be integrated in a thermal power plant in different ways, extracting and returning heat in different points along the thermal cycles.
Objectives
The objective of this project is to develop - and apply to a case study - techno-economic models to evaluate and compare these two alternatives (high and low temperature electrolysis). Such models would be built upon already existing combined cycle models in DYESOPT (a KTH in-house modeling tool for thermal systems design and performance evaluation).
Specific objectives of this thesis are:
- To perform a literature review on hydrogen and its role in the energy sector in the near future; technologies for its production, storage and utilization; hydrogen market and economy.
- To define relevant key performance indicators for assessing the system’s technical, economic and environmental performance.
- To develop a model of the new components (those hydrogen-specific) and integrate them in the existing combined cycle model.
- To determine the most suitable integration option (SOEC into CCGT)
- To evaluate the techno-economic performance of the proposed layouts under different market and boundary conditions.
Main Deliverables
The main deliverables of the project include:
- Final thesis report and presentation of the project.
- Flexible techno-economic models: model scripts and user guidelines / instructions.
Duration
The project should start in January 2022 the latest, with a duration of 6 months.
Specific earlier starting date to be discussed.
Location
KTH - Energy Department
Contact persons
Main Supervisor
Supervisor and contact person
Examiner